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PLDN Chapter 12
Chapter 12: New Home. The Confrontation At Last Sub-Entry 111: "Preparing For New Home": Alphys watched as the Delorean hovered down and landed on the Data Save marker. Curiously, she reached out to touch the frame of the car. She jerked her hand back, shaking it. I opened the door as she quickly got back. "Cold isn't it? Damn cold." Alphys nodded, while trying to warm her hand up. "It s-s-seems chronal d-d-displacement is an endothermic process. F-fascinating." "Don't take this the wrong way but I can't tell if your stutter is nervous habit or if you're just cold." "Uh...a l-l-little of b-both." "Sorry about that." "Greetings, Alphys-hakase." "Anata no shiriai ni ai ni kite yorokonde, Rabottou-sensei." "Ah! How impressive! You speak my native dialect, very well. I am honored." "I w-watch a lot of anime." "You do not say?" Bunnie smirked. "J-just the two of you, this time?" Bunnie and I looked at each other. Elsewhere... The Time Train landed at the mouth of Mount Ebott. The door opened. "Yo yo yo yo! That's whassup! Check it! Princes Vi in the hizzle-ouse!" Violet slid out of the train and did a dab. That was when her T.A.O. link went off. "Violet. Report in." "Hey ya, Boss Wolf. Sup?" "You know what's 'sup', Vi. Have you dropped through the barrier yet?" "In good time, Sparks-ter." I sighed. "I know I can't trust you to stay behind on your own, so I might as well bring you here where I can keep an eye on you." "Technically you won't be--" That was when something blazed out of the Time Train and zipped straight down the mouth of the mountain. "Hey! No fair!" "Having a problem with your partner, Vi?" I mused. "I'll get back to you..." Vi grumbled before putting the com away and firing up her jet pack's thrusters. "You're in so much trouble when I catch up to you!" Back at Alphys' lab. I smirked as I put my communicator away. "Pound it." Bunnie and I shared a nonchalant bro-fist. "So. You know the plan?" "Understood." "Y-Y-You're n-not staying?" "Sorry, Alphys. I'll be heading to Snowdin. But do not worry. Volt will standing by here while the others head this way." "Seems like a reskin of the last time you were here. N-no offense." "If it's not broke, don't fiddle with it." I shrugged. "More importantly, we'll have complete coverage over the Underground. Bunnie's headed to the Ruins. Violet is headed to Snowdin." "B-B-But...what about Waterfall?" "I got someone else on the case." "I see." "I the mean time...let's not beat around the bush. Why do we go ahead and see it." "See...w-w-w-what?" "Alphys. Don't try to hide it. I've seen it before. I know all about it." I bowed my head. "Take us to the True Lab." Alphys moaned. "If anyone can keep your secret, it's me. And besides. I've made this solemn promise once before." "In...the o-other timeline?" "Yes." "And?" "I told no one. You decided to reveal the truth of your own volition." "I did?" I nodded. "I'm...n-n-n-not ready to do th-that. I c-can't b-bring myself to f-face any of them." "I understand. It'll take time. It'll be your choice. When you're ready, you'll know what to do and what to say. Of course it does carry the possibility you'll be fired as Royal Scientist--" "That's perfectly u-undertandable. I guess it's only natural m-my sins would catch up to me. When it's my time I'll.........w-w-wait, what was that about being fired?" Gah. That was a stupid thing to let slip out. Stupid, stupid, stupid! "Uhhhh...nevermind." I said sheepishly. Bunnie facepalmed. "Until we meet again, Commander." Bunnie threw down a smoke bomb. When the smoke cleared, she was already en route to Snowdin and back to the gates of the Ruins where she would briefly meet up with the others. And so... "Tra la la... Dancing on a boat is danger. But good exercise..." "But of course." Bunnie nodded, arms crossed as she remained standing...and perfectly balanced despite the fact that the boat had somehow tranformed itself, gaining a dog's head and legs and was running on the surface of the waters. "We were born with our eyes in front so that we spend our lives looking toward the future. Rather than watching the past." And this began a back-and-forth of fortune cookie wisdom. Was it that surprising that she'd make a friend in someone of few words and much mystery. I had theories on who or what the River Person was based on other AU's; in at least one the River Person was Sans and Papyrus' estranged mother. In another, the first volunteer for Gaster's experiments with time and space. In another, Gaster's brother. But here? Who could say. Maybe it was a mystery not meant to be solved. This was that conflict between the scientist needing to know and the person who knew where the limit was to reach too far for the stars--the dangers of the Arrogance of Icarus as it were. "Tra la la. I heard ASGORE has a favorite food." Bunnie pondered that. No coincidence that she was headed toward the source of that food. While at the same time, elsewhere... *knock knock knock* "...?" Toriel opened the door. "Yo, goat mamma. Sup?" Violet was quickly elbowed. "Sorry to bother you. We're seeking our Commander. Wolf with gold fur. Lab coat. Sandals. Kinda followed the trail down this hole in the mountain and I guess we're not going back the way we came." "This...truly is a sign..." Toriel covered her mouth, her eyes a little misty but lighting up with the most hope she'd ever had in a long time. "My name is Toriel. He said others would come. Please. Come inside." Violet and Sally knuckle-bumped. "Tight." "Hmm? Perhaps you should loosen your belt, if it is--" "Sorry. Informal dialect has...kinda changed in the last several decades. She means this is excellent." "Oh! I see. I suppose I have much to catch up on......We are...behind the times down here." "We'll get you up to speed." Sally said with a wink. Oh yeah. She meant that as a pun. "Speaking of attire...you have...interesting...er...garments?" "I was clever enough to build up a pretty good fortune while keeping humans out of the loop. Being the er...unseen ruler of your own small kingdom has its perks." Sally gave Violet a dubious look. She was skirting the line with her cover story. "I teamed up with a scientist like the Commander. She invented...technology she incorporated into a suit and gear adapted from the humans' advanced covert infantry powered battle suits." "It...er...sounds...very complicated." "Well, to summarize, she designed it to vastly amplify my magic abilities and such to make a better, faster recon scout...you know...for gathering intel on humans, human cities, and such without being seen let alone caught. I mean...if you're too fast for anyone to notice and all the surveilance equipment you need to learn all about the surface world, you can survive for a good long time......and have a little fun on the side." "It...uh...makes sense." Toriel was vastly overwhelmed. But she was buyin' it. Nice cover story, Sally. "Well. Make yourselves at home. Please accept my hospitality. And perhaps some pie and tea?" "Shway." "Stellar." The door closed behind them. Gods I hope I didn't make a mistake with those two. Sub-Entry 112: "Facing Her Sins/Setting the Trap": As the elevator descended... "So." "Y-yeah..." "Alphys. Facing this is a sign of your strength. You may not think yourself very brave...or even a good peson sometimes. But keep in mind...as scientists...we make choices. We make mistakes. We're not evil for unleashing what we don't understand. What is evil is doing nothing about it...whether it's because we embrace what we've turned loose on the world...or we're too ashamed to face anyone for our mistakes." "You make it sound so easy." "Bunnie's right though. You need to work on your self-esteem. Alphys, the consequences of what you done will come for you sooner or later. You can choose to cower from them or face them head-on. I speak from experience." "Have you ever done something so terrible as to play with the lives of monsters...with the dead?" "You're speaking of the Amalgamates. And Flowey." "So...th-th-that's what it called itself?" "In all fairness I suspect the name inadvertantly came from Asgore." "Then...the King has...!" "In one of the previous resets, most likely. But but now...I doubt Flowey would reveal who he was in life...not unless he really wanted to hurt. If he ever told the Queen the truth, it would tear her to shreds. Metaphorically, speaking." "The Queen? She's s-s-s-sstill...? But...she d-d-disappeared so long ago--" "Not disappeared. Just...self-exile. She couldn't live in New Home...in the same Castle as Asgore. She refused to let the first fallen be buried with the Prince's dust in the throne room. That...caused problems of their own. I could list off everything that happened...but then I'd be getting into what's going to happen. And..." "No one should know too m-much about their destiny. That's right...you're a t-time traveller. You kn-know what's going to h-happen in the future." "Yes and no. I know what's SUPPOSED to happen. But outside force are also conspiring to tamper with the timeline in addition to the human child...childen playing around with the timelines...the resets, the save-and-loads. Erasing timelines entirely. I'm doing my best to keep the timeline on the straight an narrow...putting the kabosh on these genocide attempts. This whole Undertale started as just another mission. But I have never had "just another mission". For countless other worlds and situations, things end up getting personal. Like now. I've met you. Undyne. The Skeleton Brothers. And many others. But most of all...the Prince of that other timeline. Who's now growing up in my home. I just want to do the right thing. Like you do." " w-wish I knew h-how h-hard it was to d-d-do the right thing. Things have g-gotten so out of control. Everything's g-g-gone so wrong. This True Lab.....it's the c-culmination of my work gone so wrong. I'm s-s-such trash." "Alphys, stop selling yourself short before you end up in the trash can again." "What?" I whapped myself over the head. "Oh. Right. Hasn't happened yet. Dammit, forget I said anything." "M-might be a little late for that." "At this rate I'm going to have to neurolize you." "Neuralize?" "Memory erasure on a controlled level." I showed the updated Neuralizer. "It's...a last resort should things go sour. A way to surgically reset things without resetting the timeline itself." "Amazing." I sighed. "Not really. Just the proof of my work collaborating with another agency..." I glossed over my past with the Men in Black. "I w-w-wish I could just use that on myself and wake up from this nightmare." "There are no shortcuts, Alphys." The elevator stopped at that point. Darkness. I could barely see the floor but I recognized it. That dark, dull slate blue floor and walls. Or maybe it just seemed that way because of the dimness. Dark. Grimy. Fog-filled. As we walked the corridors, I actually took the time to read and understand Alphys' notes...that memoir of hope drain away to despair and self-condemnation. ENTRY NUMBER 1: This is it... Time to do what the King has asked me to do. I will create the power to free us all. I will unleash the power of the SOUL. ENTRY NUMBER 2: The barrier is locked by SOUL power.. Unfortunately, this power cannot be recreated artificially. SOUL power can only be derived from what was once living. So, to create more, we will have to use what we have now... The SOULs of monsters. ENTRY NUMBER 3: But extracting a SOUL from a living monster would require incredible power... Besides being impractical, doing so would instantly destroy the SOUL's host. And, unlike the persistent SOULs of humans... The SOULs of most monsters disappear immediately upon death. If only I could make a monster's SOUL last... ENTRY NUMBER 4: I've been researching humans to see if I can find any info about their SOULS. I ended up snooping around the castle... And found these weird tapes. I don't feel like ASGORE's watched them... I don't think he should. ENTRY NUMBER 5: I've done it. Using the blueprints, I've extracted it from the human SOULs. I believe this is what gives their SOULs the strength to persist after death. The will to keep living... The resolve to change fate. Let's call this power... "Determination." As I read, Alphys looked away, cringing and shuddering. "I th-th-though it w-w-was th-this way..." It seemed almost like Alphys was deliberately delaying the inevitable...there's no way we could be this lost. And furthermore...entry 4 should have been in the dormitory to the DT Extractor Room. ...wait...the layout of the True Lab was far different. If anything...it looked more organized than before. Far more straightforward thant he old incarnation. ENTRY NUMBER 6: ASGORE asked everyone outside the city for monsters that had "fallen down." Their bodies came in today. They're still comatose... And soon, they'll all turn into dust. But what happens if I inject "determination" into them? If their SOULS persist after they perish, then... Freedom might be closer than we all thought. ENTRY NUMBER 7: We'll need a vessel to wield the monster SOULs when the time comes. After all, a monster cannot absorb the SOULs of other monsters. Just as a human cannot absorb a human SOUL... So then... What about something that's neither human nor monster? ENTRY NUMBER 8: I've chosen a candidate. I haven't told ASGORE yet, because I want to surprise him with it... In the center of his garden, there's something special. The first golden flower, that grew before all the others. The flower from the outside world. It appeared just before the queen left. I wonder... What happens when something without a SOUL gains the will to live? ENTRY NUMBER 9: things aren't going well. none of the bodies have turned into dust, so i can't get the SOULs. i told the families that i would give them the dust back for the funerals. people are starting to ask me what's happening. what do i do? ENTRY NUMBER 10: experiments on the vessel are a failure. it doesn't seem to be any different from the control cases. whatever. they're a hassle to work with anyway. the seeds just stick to you, and won't let go... I sighed. "Flowey..." The mention of the seeds that stuck to people and wouldn't let go sent a chill down my spine. It was almost like...another AU was calling to me...to both of us across the Axis of Reality. It worried me that the seeds could just be harmless. Or...maybe they could be the instrument of something far more sinister. It almost sounded like a movie title. The Seed of Fl-- "Maybe it was this way?" ENTRY NUMBER 11: now that mettaton's made it big, he never talks to me anymore. ... except to ask when i'm going to finish his body. but i'm afraid if i finish his body, he won't need me anymore... then we'll never be friends ever again. ... not to mention, every time i try to work on it, i just get really sweaty... ENTRY NUMBER 12: nothing is happening. i don't know what to do. i'll just keep injecting everything with "determination." i want this to work. ENTRY NUMBER 13: one of the bodies opened its eyes. ENTRY NUMBER 14: Everyone that had fallen down... ... has woken up. They're all walking around and talking like nothing is wrong. I thought they were goners...? ENTRY NUMBER 15: Seems like this research was a dead end... But at least we got a happy ending out of it...? I sent the SOULS back to ASGORE, returned the vessel to his garden... And I called all of the families and told them everyone's alive. I'll send everyone back tomorrow. : ) The realization that Alphys was right about Mettaton once the body was finished was a downer. But not nearly as much as the fact that knew what was coming in Entry 16. Alphys had stopped before we got to the offending monitor entry. I gently coaxed her forward. ENTRY NUMBER 16: no No NO NO NO NO I noticed the next monitor was out. Huh....you know now that I recall...I don't remember ever seeing Entry 17. I gave the display a whap with a crackle of static. There was some scrambled graphics, error message...then the entry came up. ENTRY NUMBER 17: Monsters' physical forms can't handle "determination" like humans' can. with too much determination, our bodies begin to break down. everyone's melted together... Alphys began to sniffle. "Eyes forward, doctor. It may not seem like it, but you have to confront this. Or you'll never be able to heal." It occured to me that we hadn't gotten to Undyne's letter. Frisk hadn't seen this yet. Yeah...this was stuff that was normally taken care of in the time loop. But how would this change things? Part of it was my fault. Part of it was Frisk number 2. But I really wanted to know who to fault...I knew he was out there...watching and wating. That was when the entry started glitching out. "What? I'ts n-never d-done th-that before--" When the message came back up... "What the......" My eyes widened. "Wing-Dings?" I thought a moment before it came to me. I fished out the old holo-tablet I had used when I had first wound up in the Void and met Gaster in the Genocide Timeine...well...technically outside of it. I ran the translation and came up with: ENTRY NUMBER SEVENTEEN DARK DARKER YET DARKER THE DARKNESS KEEPS GROWING THE SHADOWS CUTTING DEEPER PHOTON READINGS NEGATIVE THIS NEXT EXPERIMENT SEEMS VERY VERY INTERESTING ... WHAT DO YOU TWO THINK "Wha...what is th-th-th-this?" I narrowed my eyes. A message from Gaster. No. A log entry from Gaster. But...hidden inside a normally inaccessable log entry? "Something we'll have to ponder later. Also. Alphys. I know why you're leading us in circles. From where we go from here...? The choice is still yours. Don't complicate it. We can help you if you'll let us." "I...I..." "Don't know who to trust. I've shown much promise but...yeah. I get it. Well. I'm patient. Just...come around when you're ready." "I...guess I owe you that much." "There are only a couple entries left." ENTRY NUMBER 18: the flower's gone. ENTRY NUMBER 19: the families keep calling me to ask when everyone is coming home. what am i supposed to say? i don't even answer the phone anymore. ENTRY NUMBER 20: ASGORE left me five messages today. four about everyone being angry. one about this cute teacup he found that looks like me. thanks asgore. ENTRY NUMBER 21: i spend all my time at the garbage dump now. it's my element. My heart was going out to her more than ever. "You know so much about me. Facing this...I don't feel any--" "Alphys. Do you know why I understand more than anybody what it means to be haunted by your mistakes?" "N-not r-r-really." "I've spent a lifetime...multiple lifetimes...uncountable lifetimes trying to make up for my biggest mistake. A mistake which cost an entire universe. An incalculable number of lives ended because of a choice I made. A choice which was meant to protect but only ended up being a betrayal. That betrayal was what led to me bearing the weight of a people I can never apologize to...a people I can never bring back. My mistake is irreversable. Yours...isn't." "I...I had no idea." "No one does on this world. And few on mine. But my agency won't ever let me forget it. EVER." "I'm...I'm so..." I knelt down, my ears drooping...and my tears running down my face. "Someone wise once said 'it's never meaningless to apologize'. I think the same can be said about offering condolences." Alphys wrapped her arms around me. I wrapped my arms around her. And we hugged and cried for a good long time until we were ready to move on to the generator room. She had left the keys in all of the locks. All that was left was the power switch. She reached out to active it. That was when we heard the heavy breathing in the room that wasn't mine or hers. "Oh no--" I sighed. "Really? Really?" I let the dog treats drop out of my sleeve into my hand before turning to face the gaping hole within the face of Endogeny. "You get so cheeky when you're not fed on time." "...h-how did...? Oh...r-right. You've b-b-been here before. You m-must know all the secrets by now." "Everything in here...but one you might be able to help me with later--" I started before Endogeny gulped down the treats...then drenched me in drool. "I hate it when certain history repeats." I shook the drool out of my fur before sending an electric static ring around myself and swept it up and down a few times before I was dry. Alphys hesitated a bit before powering the True Lab on. We went around the place a few more times before we stopped in the room of Golden Flowers and mirrors. It finally occured to me that most everyone that Alphys knew ended up leaving her. Mettaton. Flowey. If he counted...Gaster. But in all fairness she left the people she cared about, first. I hadn't forgotten about what I learned about Bratty and Catty. I wanted to bring them up but...I hadn't run into them in this timeline, yet. And...I didn't feel like bringing up the past. "I wanted it to w-work. I n-needed it to work. But...it...it didn't work. The P-Prince...I know so very little about him... B-b-but I wanted to bring him back to the King. Was I wrong...to use his favorite thing as a vessel?" What she first said felt like...Gaster's words. I'd have to talk to him again some time. Maybe...get more answers. "There are days when I can't be sure of what's right and what's wrong. The road to failure is paved with good intentions, Alphys." "Then I suppose w-we're the most wretched failures of all." "No. Just...people. People who don't quite know how to make it right, even though we haven't stopped trying." I eyed the very mirror I had written Asriel's name in with ownly the fog of my breath last time I had been here. "Some day our mistakes will just be echos. Echos in the mirror." I didn't quite know what I meant but...I did know one thing. It was time to stop thinking about the past. "I still have..." "Doubts. I get it. I suppose I have no choice but to offer you one last secret as a symbol of trust. One finally thing to offer that shows I'm willing to put my complete and total faith in you. By revealing this secret to you...I have nothing left to hide...no bit of leverage. You will hold all the cards with my fate on the line." "D-D-Doctor?" I stepped back and got some room and de-morphed; my transformation reversing. The fur receeded. The fangs shrunk. My features turned human. My toes shrunk from 8 werewolf digits to 10 human digits. My ears returned to the side of my head. Everything reverted. And with that I put my glasses back on. A gasp. An attempt at a squeal. I'm not really sure what to make of Alphys' reaction. It was shock. It was amazement. It was...all things in one. "You are...h-h-h-human?" "I am half human. Half wolf. I am a species known as lycanthrope. Werewolf. Loupe Garrou in some languages. Violet would probably say Worgon, because she plays too many MMORPG's. But yeah...in a way both human and monster. With a soul as powerful as both combined. Enough to cross the barrier at will." Alphys stammered for what seemed like a good 30 seconds before she could speak properly. "Why.....why so much faith in me?" "A leap of faith is one of the truest and sincerest outreaches of friendship. Not...sure that's the best translation from Bunnie's wisdom...but you understand. If I'm willing to take this much of a risk with you...then you have to know how far I'm willing to take this to get you all the happy ending you all deserve. And before you say anything...I know what kind of a risk it is around Asgore. I know how much he would be tempted. I know it would come down to me or the human. But really...I guess I just have that much faith it'll work out a second time." That was a stretch. Also...it never really worked out in the end last time. But maybe...maybe I could do better. I pulled off my glasses, pocketed them and transformed back into my werewolf form. "Alphys. We have a long and winding road ahead. The second human is going to head to New Home before long. I've been...tinkering with a plan. But I'm going to need your help. I'm going to need everyone's help." "What d-do you have in mind?" Sub-Entry 113: "The Unsuspecting Bait Known as Asgore Dreemurr": Elsewhere... "...thanks again for everything Tori-Tori." "You are...an interesting one, Miss Tokugawa." "Eh, call me Violet. You've earned it." "You are definitely Volt's friend." "And hey, thanks much for the bonzer pie. It's good to know it's not going to wreck my diet." "You are too strict with your regimen, my friend." "That regimin is what keeps me on top." "I wish you well in your travels. It...does not bother me so much that you are leaving." "Because there are so many of us dropping in on you unexpectedly so often?" "I believe that might be the case." "Well. We'll think of you on our travels." Sally pushed open the gates and headed out with Violet, disappearing into the sudden snow drifts that were making the visibility ahead almost zero. It did not take long for the to be out of Toriel's sight. But they were quickly in the sight of someone else. "Hey." Vi waved. "Right on time." Sally mused as she walked past. As she did so, she and Bunnie shared a quick high-five, without stopping their pace. Nothing needed to be said. "Hmm?" Toriel's gaze widened as Bunnie came into view. "Greetings again, Lady Toriel. I thought that I would drop by briefly to give you some company." "That is thoughtful, Bunnie...but...you do not wish to reconnect with your friends?" "We will meet up again later. Checking in with the commander takes priority." "Come in, my friend. And tell me of your travels through the kingdom." And soon... "Well. See ya, Sal." "You know it." Sally boarded the River Person's boat. "I'm gonna spend some time with my new favorite bon--" "Violet. Volt and/or Bunnie will thwap you over the head for being lewd." "Okay, fine. Skelleys. Jeeze. You know when they throw bones as an attack I just have to call them bon--" "Don't." Sally crossed her arms. "I have my limits, too, y'know." The River Person set sail for Waterfall. "Time to pay Sans a house call." Violet jetted off to Snowdin Town. And so... "SAAAANS! ANSWER THE DOOR!" "Eh. Sounds like a lot of work." "I have my hands full with my latest spaghetti creation! You are only a few steps from the doorway!" "I guess you got me, bro." "You're not going to shirk your duties and common courtessey as an occupant of this house. What would the neighbors think if we snubbed new guests because of laziness? Unacceptable!" "Sheesh. No need 'ti-bia' grouch about it! If you want me to 'bone up' on my greetings, I'll let whoever's at the door into our 'radius' so we can 'cal-cium'." "OH MY GOD, SANS! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!" Sans chuckled as he opened the door. Then his grin faded and his eye dots vanished, leaving his empty sockets. "Well. There's a greeting that'll wake the dead. Miss me, Sansy?" "Brother! Who is at the door?" "Isn't this the part where you decide if I'm in for a good or bad time?" Violet grinned. "SANS!" Papyrus snapped as he showed up behind his brother, startling him. "Don't be rude! Invite our guest in!" "Hey, if that's an open-invitation, don't mind if I do!" Violet slipped past Sans. "The name's Violet! I'm a friend of Volt's. I thought I'd drop by on my way to seek out my boss. So what's cookin, tall, white, and heroic-looking!" And Paps was hooked. "Nyeheheheh! I see you recognize greatness!" "Well yeah. That scarf and that battle body. You got the makings of Royal Guard written all over you!" A gasp of joy. Sans was actually speechless. Violet was a master fast-talker and she was quickly shutting Sans down while building Papyrus up. Oh yeah...I was going to regret this later. Smiley Trashbag would not let this go... It didn't take long in another part of the Underground... "NYAAAAAGH! What's with all the people knocking down my door, lately?! Can't I get some freakin' rest after getting my scaly butt burned in Hotland?!" The fang-teeth opened and there was Undyne in her fish pajamas. "Sorry to wake you. Didn't realize you were sleeping. I'll make it quick. 1) You seen my commander, and 2) That training dummy out there just for looks or do you mind if I spar a few round of it and practice my anime moves?" "...go onnn...." Undyne slowly grinned a toothy grin. "Name's Sally. I'm Volt's scout and recon. "Undyne. Captain of the Royal Guard. Soo...you know about anime, too?" "I dabble, but not as much as my friend, Violet." "Fu-hu-hu-hu! I am getting SO hyped for that outside world! When we get to the surface..." "Yeah. You've got a lot to look forward to." "Man, surface monsters have it so good. You've gotta tell me everything--" "Now hold on, hoss'. Far be it for me to tell you to put on the brakes, but it's not a race. We'll get there when we get there. I mean...I just got here and this whole Underground is all new to me. I kinda want to know what's the haps with this place before I start getting homesick about home." "Uuuuugh...the thought of the humans getting to enjoy it all the time while we're stuck down here..." "Be patient, Undyne. We'll get there. But for now...about that Training Dummy..." And... "Whoaaaaaaah. That's so BADASS!" It was a mystery how the Tengu Suit was working on this world. Just how many worlds did universal Bio-Field Morphing Grids exist on? "And I call this one the "North Star". First. You do THIS!!!" Sally unleashed a vulcan cannon worth of punches on the Training Dummy right out of Kenshiro's repetoir. "AT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!!!!" "So freakin' FAST!!!" "And then you just turn your back on your opponent and let them talk tough for a moment. Then you respond without turning around and say: "You are already dead." And then...!" That was when the Training Dummy was suddenly impacted all at once before self-destructing in a blast wave. "THAT. WAS. SO. FREAKIN. AWESOME!!!!!" Sally just slipped on a pair of dark sunglasses and smirked, crossing her arms. "Yeeeeeah. I'm too cool to even watch the explosion. I was going to have to have words with Sally later...and then disipline Violet by extension. Yup. These two were soul-bonded, now. Besties for life. While that was going on... "...y-y-you want to do what?" "Here me out. This has happened before." "B-b-but...did it work?" "Well..." My expression was less than assuring. "But...if anything h-h-happens to him...!" "That's why we have the plan." "This seems like b-b-b-b-big risk. It's b-bad enough I let Asgore down...but this feels like bordering on treason--" "It's not. We'll keep him safe. And put a stop to the Human." "I d-don't like this already..." "Trust me, Alphys. I'm not about to screw this up." I headed to the elevator. "See you there, Doctor." Alphys just stood there, speechless as the doors closed. Once the Elevator arrived at the top, within New Home, within the castle... I got out and waited. After a while... "...I was starting to think you weren't going to show up." "I'm not doing this to help you." "Then why do it at all?" "..." "So. You have gotten that bored. You want to try something different and see where things go?" "That's not it, either." "Oh. Still playing your roll in his game. You think that you can spin a plan out of this that you can offer him in exchange for--" "......" "Well. You didn't say no...but that's not a yes either." I rubbed my chin. "Is it the kid?" Flowey turned away. "It is...but it isn't." I reasoned. "Huh. I never thought you of all people would be this hard to read. You're as good at keeping secrets as I am." "Don't patronize me, Arcade." "I'm not going to tell you want to do. Because that would piss you off and you'd tell me that you're not going to do something because I told you to." "You're really starting to..." "...take the fun out of this?" "Stop it!" I paced a bit. "You feel just as betrayed by the human as Chara. The original one, I mean." A growl. "I get it." "You can't possibly get it." "Enlighten me." "The could have been my Chara. Instead, I got..." Flowey's angry look told a lot. But he was holding back. This felt like a clue. "Cheated?" "What would you know about being cheated out of--" "Plenty. Or did you forget Frisk's reset? I had the chance to wrap this up. All Frisk had to do was Load. Instead of a True Pacifist run I could help finish, I got kicked out of my agency and isolated from a lot of people I care about. Five years later they pull me back in and I have a second chance." "Cut the sob story. It's not like I can feel anything from it." "Flowey. You're the last link in the chain. Do what you want but know that you're no more above the consequences than I am. Than the kid is. All of us are just pawns in the Sisters' game. Remember that when you see...him again. Whatever he promises you...it won't be worth it." "Fine. I'll do what you want..." Flowey pulled himself underground and headed off... I walked off toward the Judgement Hall, expecting Sans. He wasn't there. So...I took my time and hid behind one of the columns and waited. And then after a while... I heard the kid shuffle into the hallway...scraping the Real Knife against the floor, sending off sparks. There you are, you punk. I waited until they passed me and entered the throne room. I didn't want to wait too long. It was very likely that they'd go right for Asgore. So...I activated the SPECTRE function and headed in after them. There he was again...facing away from Frisk...and me. In all of his 7 to 8 feet of glory...or remorse. That was when realized that his name had a second anagram to it. Asgore Dreemurr. Sage or Murderer. But also. Guarder Remorse. Yeah. Much more fitting. "Curious. I've never seen a plant... Cry before." Had I really struck a nerve with Flowey? Gods...this was playing out scarily like a Genocide Timeline already. No. Gods, no. Please don't let it happen like this. "...huh?" He turned around. "You must be the one the flower warned me about." He put on a happy face. "Howdy! ... Erm... What kind of monster are you...?" For Asgore to ask that...it was either very absent-minded; that he couldn't recognize a human after he was responsible for the deaths of six human children. Or...it was actually eerily perceptive; recognizing that Frisk...this Frisk had discarded any semblance of humanity. "Sorry. I cannot tell." A pause. "Well...we can always--" Frisk lifted the Real Knife. "Now, now. There's no reason to fight. Why not settle this...over a nice cup of tea?" It's now or never. The knife raised-- "!!!" Sub-Entry 114: "Exposed. The Real Villain Is...!!!" Frisk struggled. Curious. I would have figured she'd at least grunt trying to force the knife to swing. I dropped the SPECTRE function. "I'm afraid I cannot allow you to do that, Frisk." I stepped into the visible, with my magnetic powers holding the knife still. Frisk whirled toward me. "Oh! Golly, I have another visitor. Howdy! I know you are eager to meet with me but it is not good manners to simply barge in when I already have a guest." "I apologize in advance, your majesty but I could not allow the human to go through with regicide." "Human? They wish to kill me?" Asgore couldn't possibly be this clueless. I spoke with him in other timelines. I know he's intelligent. He opened up to me in the previous timeline. I gave him advice borrowed from Full Metal Alchemist. Was he just playing dumb or...? "I feel I must apologize. The human has attacked many of our people and become a danger to us all. There was a plan made to lure the human out and capture them. I am sorry, Asgore. But you were unkowingly live bait for them." "I...erm...do not know what to say. I...suppose I understand but..." He looked off to the side. In that moment I could see past the facade. Yeah. He was definitely smarter than he was letting on. "I suppose...I do no have any right to object...not after..." I noticed Frisk was looking increasingly irate. Was it because of what she was hearing? Or because we were suddenly ignoring her. "I am afraid I am at a loss. Who are you?" "My name is Dr. Volt Alessandro Arcade. To summarize things...I was a monster in hiding on the surface with my small group of friends until we were chased to the Underground. I have had a short time to learn how things work around here...the history...the situation...and the issue of the barrier......" I hesitated. "...and the six human souls." Asgore lowered his head at that. I could see a tiny glistlening spark below his brow...a tear? Sure enough a single droplet fell to the flowers at his feet. "I know the story, your highness. I know about your son...about your children." I almost said "your daughter". I wonder if that would have changed things. Frisk was getting increasingly angry. As angry as they were I was surprised her face wasn't flushing. She struggled harder to get the knife free. The knife was starting to glow red...and I thought I could hear the throb of a heart beat as their red soul, filled with Determination, emerged. They were insisting on a fight with Asgore. "Stop it, you." I yanked hard and jerked the knife out of their hand, landing it in the bed of flowers. I was sure I heard Flowey yelp in fear rather than pain. Just missed you, huh? I guess that kinda put a damper on his plan to try to take Asgore out. "Doctor. I do not know you very well...I do not wish to be ungrateful for saving my life but..." "Is it true, Asgore? Is it true what she said about you?" He looked all the more troubled. "It is true. I am a coward. I wanted so badly to keep the hopes and dreams of my people alive that I was willing to morally bankrupt myself to do so." Asgore produced his Trident...then let it clatter to the floor. "I cannot. With each one...my burden...my guilt has grown. I cannot bring myself to...it is so hard...and so painful to even stand here before you and face my sins." "What are you going to do your highness?" "I...I do not know. Perhaps I should--" "NO!" My temper flared. "You will not take your own life. Especially in light of...this." I dismissed the human. "If they get your soul, they will not just reap their revenge on monsters. They will kill their own." Asgore looked shocked if not stunned by this reveal. "Child. You would not--" Frisk turned toward Asgore, seething. "No. I cannot see into your eyes but that expression. I do not understand. Why would--" In that moment Asgore remembered something...something from long ago. Something forgotten. "It cannot be--" It was at that moment-- *FWOOSH* Asgore went flying to the ground, knocked off his feet by a fireball. I whirled and there was Toriel with Bunnie. "On your feet, whelp." She glared coldly. "T-T-Tori! I uh--" "Do not Tori me. What were you intending to do to the human child?" "Toriel, as much as I appreciate the--" I started. "NYAAAAAGH!!!" Undyne barged in with Sally at her side. "You?!" She pointed at Toriel. "Undyne." Toriel's expression was lukewarm at best. "So the queen finally returns to reclaim her throne after abandoning us?" "You would do well to mind your tone, Captain of the Royal Guard." Toriel's flames hovered around her ready to launch. Oh no. This was starting to go south. Last time I managed to convince them all to put aside their petty differences for the greater good. This was too much like the end of a normal True Pacifist Ending. I hadn't thought this through as well as I thought. "You would raise your spear to me?" "Maybe I should." "This is the kind of brutish behavior that I did not wish my poor sweet Asriel to be exposed to." "It was you that make our Prince weak and full of fear!" Undyne pointed her spear at Toriel. "You dare?!" Her flames intensified. "Now, now. Perhaps we should discuss this over--" "You stay out of this!" Both of them said in unison before charging toward each other. That was when... "!!!" "What the Hell...?!?" "Nyeheheheheh!" Nice save, Papyrus. "Papyrus, what the Hell?!?" "I do not know who you are, but this does not concern you...!" "But I would not be as great as I am if I did not solve problems peacefully and heroically! Nyeheheheh!" "Oh brother...Papyrus, can you not?" "Papyrus? Is your name Papyrus? Are you not the brother of my friend who comes to my gateway?" "Nyeh? Gateway? Is that what my brother has been doing while he was slacking off on his duties? He did not tell me he made a friend?" "He has...been rather helpful in my time of loneliness!" Papyrus gasped. "My brother has been tending to a lonely soul? This changes everything! If I had known he had been tending to someone living on their own without friends, I would have been more understanding! To think he would put forth effort to help a person in need!" Papyrus looked closer. "Oh my! I did not know there was another Asgore!" "But I am not--" "Nyehehehe! Fear not, Asgore's clone! I shall gladly assist you in your time of need as well--" "Papyrus! Do you not know who this is?!" Undyne snapped. Okay, this was all breaking down all over again and Frisk was getting more and more impatient. And even angrier with the sight of the other Boss Monsters. "Wow, Pappy! I guess you totally creamed me in that race to the Throne Room." Violet showed up a moment later. "Good thing I didn't bet any gold." "Not helping, Vi." I glared as Bunnie facepalmed and Sally shrugged. "W-w-wait! *puff puff puff* (oh god) I'm h-here, t-too!" "Doctor? I have not seen you in so long. What is the meaning of this? Have you finally made progress on...!" Asgore was quick on the uptake. "Alphys?! What are you doing here?" Undyne turned her attention to the lizard in the lab coat. "That is Doctor Alphys? I cannot say I've ever met her, mind you you, but I was not expecting er..." A moment of silence from Toriel. "So. You are the one Asgore made his Royal Scientist." "I-I-I am...I--" Toriel glared daggers through her. "I...g-guess you w-want to p-p-punish me for all I've d-done. I g-guess I d-deserve it. I r-realy am trash. And trash sh-should be..." Toriel was taken aback by that. This was not what she was expecting. Alphs dropped to her hands and knees and bowed her head. "I'm s-s-so s-sorry. I never m-meant to h-hurt anyone. B-b-but I--" "I don't know what you're going on about, Alphys. I don't know what you're apologizing for. I mean you do all that awesome science stuff you never let me see. You don't have to explain anything to a defunct queen." "Undyne, please...that is my ex-wife. I have no right to ask but......please show respect." "I do not need handouts from your, whelp." "But Asgore...!" No sign of the Paci-Frisk, though. It looked like this might fall apart before-- That was when a laser blast cut through the doorway and smashed into the far wall. All of us but Frisk gasped. But I could tell they were displeased. "Finally..." I uttered as sure enough Frisk came in at a dead run, covering her head with both hands. She skidded to a stop, suddenly. "...now that was just rude." I turned as Sans calmly walked into the throne room, eye sockets winked shut before opening his eyes. "We haven't finished our chat, yet--" His glowing cyan eye pierced through Frisk. "Skeleton. I have no quarrel with you. But what you did was dangerous. If you intend to harm the child..." "...hey. We're just talking, lady. Not need to 'bleat' around the bush." "Your voice...have we...met?" Well...this was escalating. "Brother, you did not tell me you were assisting this lonely goat clone! Why did you not say anything about this female Asgore?" "Uh...! Paps! I uh...!" "And why are you bothering the human?!" Inevitably... "...bud?" It became instantly obvious to us all. "What is this...?" "This...cannot be!" Toriel's flames extinguished and she covered her mouth in shock. "Damn it all! What the Hell is going on?!" "Two humans?!" "Dr. Arcade?" "Uh...hey, everyone. This is certainly something I was less prepared for than I thought." "In all fairness, Commander we should have thought this through more deeply." "What are you talking about, Bunnie?" In our confusion... "Commander!" Sally was the first to point out one of the Frisks had gone for the knife. The other went after them. "Oh no...not this cliche..." I groaned as they strugged. "I lost track of who's who--" Violet started before. "But I didn't." Sally's eye darted back and forth. "This is bad. This is bad." I held my temples. "Now, now. Do not fight, humans. This can be solved dipolmatically--" That was when one of the Frisks was knocked off their feet and the other grabbed the knife and ran for Asgore. "No!" "My child!" "Stop them!" "Gotta...get a blue attack--!" Without thinking I charged myself with as much electromagnetic energy as I could and formed a tunnel of magnet rings around myself, creating a makeshift magnetic rail cannon with me as the bullet. "I'm sorry, Toriel. Please forgive me." I uttered before the coils lit up one by one. And in that second I was launched like a bullet with my fist out. It was the first thing I could think of. And it was stupid and would probably destroy Toriel's trust in me. Moments before the tip of the Real Knife could plunge into Asgore, my fist made contact with Frisk's cheek, smashing her jowls and mandible. In that moment, the world around me stopped. Her flesh rippled outward like a stone dropped into a pond. I don't think either of us could believe this was really happening. But it was happening. In the next moment all the air was pushed outward in a spherical shockwave. The next thing I knew Geno Frisk was flying backward, skidding across the flower bed, tumbling a bit in a few unstable leaps off the ground before smashing back first into the stony wall. Then time resumed. Toriel gasped loudly. "Oh my god..." "Heh." Sans sneered. "What have you done...?" Toriel looked at me with disbelieving eyes. "I'm sorry..." I uttered and dropped my head. It was over. But... "Huh?" There was something on my knuckles. Something...that didn't feel right. It wasn't..wet like blood. No. It was...something else." "M...Makeup?" I looked at my head. I walked over toward the child, a little bit of blood on the side of their mouth. They were hurt but I sensed it wasn't enough to kill them. "Get away from them!" Toriel cried as Sally and Bunnie held her back. I stood before the child as their raised their head. I saw it on their face...underneath the cosmetic makeup. I reached out and wiped their cheek...and then I turned horrified. "No...!" I gasped as I saw it...I saw the cartoonishly rosey cheeks underneath the makeup. I stepped back. "It took you long enough to figure it out, Arcade..." came a voice that was not the same as Frisk's. No. This was not the voice of a teenage girl. This was the voice of a young man. This was the voice of... "Chara Dreemurr." I narrowed my eyes. Sub-Entry 115: "Sans Takes His Revenge. Get Dunked On, Brat!": "What did you say, Arcade?" Sans asked accusingly. Toriel's eyes widened...and so did Asgore's. "It cannot be...!" "You...you...YOU IDIOTS!" With that Genocide Frisk reached up and grabbed the top of her hair...and yanked it off. A wig. A long-haired wig. Underneath the semblance of a bowl-cut hair style that had grown out from lack of proper grooming. And of course...those dark, copper red eyes. The eyes of a demon. "My...child...?! Chara?!? How can this be...?" "My son...! ALIVE?!?" "Son...?" I cocked my head as I looked on in disbelief. "Chara is a BOY?" "And you never figured it out, Arcade." "My child...why would you do this...? Why would--" "Shut up!" Toriel stumbled backward, aghast. "You...you of all people, 'mother'. You should have recognized me to begin with. Your own adopted human son. It's not enough that you didn't recognize me...you...you...!" "Chara...!" Asgore started. "I'll get to you in a moment, 'father'. One batch of sins...at a time." "Oh. So the kid's going to judge us? This is a first." Sans chuckled. "Oh you're in for a real roasting when I get to you, Smiley Trashbag. I can't say who will get it worse...you or the weed for selling me out." "Guess the flower does have a conscience in him." Sans grinned, hands in his pockets. "Toriel Dreemurr...do you know how much you've failed as a mother?" Toriel stepped backward in horror and shock. Chara clutched the knife as it glowed bright red. "I was your angel...I was your everything. And how do you reward me when I gave up EVERYTHING for your freedom? I died for you all! I poisoned myself for you all! Asriel and I...we were going to set everyone free......and exterminate the humans so that Monsters could take their rightful place." Toriel's eyes widened. "How did you repay me? You dug my corpse out of that coffin...dragged me to the Ruins and buried me at the mouth of the mountain...that place where I fell...where I was broken. Where I was DRIVEN AWAY BY THE WORTHLESS HUMANS!" "Driven away...?" I uttered. "But I thought...!" No. This Chara was different. THe first Chara came to the Underground for an unhappy reason--to end her life. This one...was exiled. I was getting the picture. And suddenly the Giga Meter snapshots made sense. The negative psychomagnetheric reading. It was because this Chara incarnation...was evil to begin with. A problem child. One who was sociapath from his roots. "But to make things worse...you...you REPLACED ME! You forgot me. You replaced me. I did everything for you and you replaced me...not just once but SEVEN TIMES! The latet with this gutless coward." Chara pointed to Frisk who just sniffled. "Why does our family photo only show you, Dad, and Asriel? Where am I?" "I...!" Toriel's knees were starting to buckle before she dropped to her knees and put her hands on top of her head. "You should have just let me kill you." Chara narrowed his eyes. "Now let's move on to you, Papyrus." "Nyeh?" "You don't get it, do you? You were in my way. That's why I killed you so many times in the other timelines. I didn't WANT to be a better person. You believed in someone who didn't believe in you! You annoying pile of bones! Do you not understand how much of a loser you are?! You're not cool at all! Do you even know why Undyne won't let you in the Royal Guard--" "Kid, you better think about what you're about to say--" "Because you're pathetically nice! You had one job! Capture a human! Instead you made tried to make friends with them! You made friends with THAT!" "That's...that's very...hurtful..." "The truth hurts, Papyrus. It's about time people stopped handling you with kid gloves and sugar-coated white lies." "HEY!! You better shut your trap, Punk!" "Oh, and so the righteous spear of justice finally speaks up. Are you shutting me up because you care about that bonehead or because it's all true? You won't let him join because he's too nice and a real enemy...like me...would tear him to shreds before he could welcome them with open arms?" "I'm warning you. If you don't--" "You don't even remember me, you scum. When Asgore was training you to beat him, you didn't waste a moment to use what you learned to try to toughen Asriel and I up. Asriel was too much of a crybaby to take it. But because I didn't raise a fuss like him...you beat the tar out of me trying to make me as strong as you. I could tell how much you didn't trust me. You didn't train me to make me stronger, you trained me to keep me in check." "You...!" "Now let's go on to my father...we'll get to you soon enough, Alphys. Sans." "Oh no..." Alphys cringed, clutching her head in fear. "You, father...you said I was the future of humans and monsters. You put all that responsibility on my shoulders. You expected great thrings from me. But you...you were the first to dismiss me when I warned you about the dangers of humans...how we were rotten to the core. How we would eat monsters alive if given the chance. I thought monsters were all above this. I should be happy. I should be overjoyed you finally understood what it took to leave the underground and be free. But it wasn't for the sake of your people. No. It was for revenge. I should embrace that. But all I can feel now is disgust. I got what I wanted but what does it matter if I finally realize...to get what I want, Monsters had to become what they fought. You, father...you've become just as twisted as me." "That's a case of the pot calling the kettle black." I grumbled. "Or maybe you forgot about how you tried to force Asriel to do the same? To take revenge on humanity." "SHUT...UP!" Chara raged. The logic was iron-clad. Chara was at war with himself on some level. But he knew I was right. He couldn't have it both ways. "So. I guess your silent partner screwed you over, didn't he?" "I'm not finished talking, Arcade!" Chara shook off the flawed logic and pointed to Alphys. "And you. You should be crushed by your sins. You created those abominations from what you stole from me. What the previous Royal Scientist stole for me." "Previous?" Asgore cocked his head. "What...previous scientist?" Toriel seemed just as confused. "And what you created from--" "That's enough, Chara." I interrupted. "I thought you were trying to honor his memory but...I'm starting to suspect you never really cared about him in the first place." Silence. My eyes widened. "My god...I'm right, aren't I?" Chara's eyes disappeared under his bangs. A twisted grin. "No...that cannot be true." "You were inseparable..." Asgore gasped. "You were siblings." Toriel sniffled. "He was USEFUL to me. He was easy to win over. Asriel was just someone I could exploit. He was too easy to manipulate. But in the end...he was the biggest traitor to me of all. It was because of him...those humans lived...and KILLED US BOTH! He could have exterminated them with our power...but he chose to take all their attacks, pick up my body and run with his tail between his legs and cross the barrier. And in the end...when he said he wasn't ready to let me go...when he said we'd be together forever...his part of our combined soul was the first to shatter. While mine was forced to wander in limbo. You, Asgore...you didn't deserve my soul to cross the barrier." Asgore was weeping. He wiped his eyes on his arm, carefully. As I had seen Asriel do. As I had seen Toriel do. "I have issues with every one of you. And that mechanical freak you built, Alphys. But I'll get to him another time." He turned to Sans. "Now there's just you." Chara glared. "Well. How about it, Sansy-pansy? I know all about you. You think I don't? Well let me let you in on a little secret. Do you know how many timelines I've been through before I got to this one? All those times I was bounced around because the "other me" had to have one more shot at recovering who she lost? It was my timeline. But I had to go through Genocide Timeline after Genocide Timeline. And still I failed to get what belongs to me. Now here we are again in this unstable timeline... Do you know how many times I've ended you?! Do you know how well I know all your tricks. All the lies. All the secrets you kept from your brother...from mom? Why don't you tell them how those six human children REALLY died?" "That's a serious accusation, kid." Sans mused. "Can't say I haven't heard it before. But you bringing it up. Using it against me now of all times? Yeah...this changes things." No. For five years, this Chara soul was bouncing around timelines...but wait. "How are you alive?" I sudden spoke up. "Oh don't worry. We'll have time to discuss that after I'm done ending these pathetic boss monsters." It would mean he would go after Muffet and Mettaton, too. Now I realize how much of a danger this Chara was. He didn't DESERVE an Asriel of his own. "I think I've heard enough." "Oh you have, have you? You know what you're risking, don't you, Smiley Trashbag? You know what will happen between your brother...my mother...everyone here if you take any action. Just what do you intend to do to me--" *PING* Oh no... "Nnngh! What are you doing?!" "Sans?" Papyrus looked shock. "What are you doing to my son?!" Toriel gasped. Sans turned to Toriel. "Sorry, old lady. But I did say I don't like making promises." "No...!" She gasped before Chara's body was flung all over the room, smashed into walls, floor, and ceiling like a rag doll before being blasted simultaneously by four Gaster Blasters. "Huh. Still alive from that. Well. You know how this goes. It's a beautiful day outside. Birds are singing. Flowers are blooming. But y'know...I'm going to say something a little new this time." Sans advanced toward the fallen Chara. "Sans...!" Undyne was just as shocked as the rest of us. "Sans, I can't let you--" I took a step forward before a wall of blue attack bones errupted between us and the battle before us. "Sans!" Asgore gasped. "My king, I'm just doing my duty. I am...a sentry after all." "...no...he's something higher ranking than that..." Violet narrowed her eyes. Sans actually cracked his knuckles. As a skeleton...that's something pretty disturbing to watch and hear. "Welcome to the abandoned land. Come on in, child, take my hand." Sans outstretched a hand as Chara staggered to his feet. Wait. I've heard these words before. These were the lyrics to...! But...that song played in our world. Five years ago on that movie set that Vi caused chaos on. "Hey don't look at me." Violet put up her hands. "I believe you..." Bunnie narrowed her eyes. "Here, there's no work or play. Only...ONE bill to pay. There's just five words to say as you go down...down...dooooown..." Sans closed his eyes, hands in his pockets and chuckled darkly before taking a raspy gasp of air. "YOU'RE GONNA BURN IN HELL!!!" In that moment it was like his...font had somehow changed...it changed, ironically enough to...comic sans. But there was nothing funny about what he said. I didn't have time to ponder it though as the whole castle was suddenly wrapped in a darkness I had never seen or felt before. "Sans...?" Papyrus whimpered. Sans lifted his foot then stomped down hard. There was a crack the floor...that opened up into a cracking, jagged fissure in the floor as blacklight poured out with traces of purple. This was new. Oh gods. Was this one of the ways I had altered the timeline when I interfered with Frisk's reset. Another of my own bad choices to put on the pile. "BURN IN HEEEEEELLL!" Sans yelled. You can't believe all the things I've done wrong in my life!" Sans suddenly teleported in front of Chara, taking him completely by surprise and burning through him with a glare out of those empty eye sockets. "Without even trying I've lived on the edge of a knife!" He grabbed Chara's wrist, holding the blade so that his reflection was pretty clear in the luster of the Real Knife. Okay, he was cracking jokes and puns to a song by Twisted Sister. A song that I had no idea how he had learned about it. I never brought this to the Underground. Violet would admit to doing something so callous. So how? How was this possible? "Well, I've played with fire, but I don't want to get myself burned..." Sans teleported behind Chara and grabbed him by the back of the head and shoved him to the ground above the fissure where the purple flames were now staring to rise from the depths. "To thine own self be true, so I think that it's time for a turn..." "...Before you burn in hell. Ohhhhh, burn in hell!" Sans suddenly spun Chara around to come face to face with him, his nose a centimeter from the hole of Sans' nasal passage. And that's when he jerked Chara back and began the bludgeoning with the alternating blue and orange attacks and the Gaster Blasters. Suddenly he lifted Chara up by his soul, yanking it up until it was almost pressed into his face. "Take a good look in your heart, tell me what do you see? It's black and it's dark, now is that how you want it to be?" Chara came crashing down into the bed of bones. He spasmed, before coughing up a spatter of blood. "Oh my gods..." I uttered. "No...this is not justice..." Bunnie could tell this had stopped being payback and started becoming bullying. Now granted...I had no love lost for Chara. Part of me wanted to see him hurt...to pay...but this isn't what the good guys do. We don't beat up on a person just because we don't like them. Because we don't like what they've done. What they represent. Our way might only set us up for them to never learn their lesson or seek revenge...but it's what saves our souls in the end. We carry the burden of what results form our actions and we pay for them. "It's up to you, what you do will decide your own fate..." Sans suddenly did something unexpected and hovered off the ground, using his own blue attack on himself while lifting Chara up by the back of the head. "Make your choice now for tomorrow may be far too late!" And low and behold Sans had touched down on one of his Gaster Blasters as it took off on its own power like a rocket...or a hover board and soared off down the Judgement Hall, surfing it with Chara in his grasp. "And then you'll burn in hell!!!" Sans suddenly smashed Chara's face into the wall and pressed his attack, the bricks tearing appear and the wall portraits being knocked off and ruined. I heard Toriel shriek in horror. "Hear no evil, don't you see no evil, don't you lay no evil down on meeee...YOU'RE GONNA BURN IN HELL!" Sans dropped Chara to the floor and turned the Gaster Blaster 90 degree, straight down and fired near point blank. Chara's scream echoed through the hallway. "Don't you speak no evil, don't you think no evil, don't you play with evil, cause' I'm freeee. YOU'RE GONNA BURN IN HELL!" Another barrage of time-space blinks in and out coupled with bone hallways and bone walls in the ceiings and floors with telekinesis. "You're gonna burn in--!!!" Sans readied to finish them off. "...!!!" Sub-Entry 116: "The Choice to Protect Chara. Preserve the Balance" "Arcade! Have you lost your mind?" "No. But I'm ready to ask you if you've lost yours. Look what you're doing in front of your brother. In front of the woman you made a promise to." "This is bigger than them. This is about the whole damn timeline...all timelines. If I don't stop the kid now...they all come to an end--" "Stop lying, Sans. You know they would've ended a long time ago if that was true. It would have ended the moment that Unstable Genocide run fell apart and was torn to bits. These timelines won't end until the Goddesses decide for them to end. You're a pawn and you know it. I'm a pawn and I know. Frisk and Chara are both pawns and you know it. No one in this room is in control of this. We're just making their show more interesting. Killing Chara won't stop this. If anything you'll give Madam Fate what she wants. An imbalance. When there are imbalances, it means she can take liberties to rebalance them...or rather facilitate the pretense of doing so while unbalancing the forces in the complete opposite direction." "What are you saying?" "A world of chaos. This is what he wants. With Chara gone...he can up the ante. He can claim more of the rules need to be revoked." "I don't know what you're talking about, Arcade. You're not making sense. The only thing that does is ending this anomaly." "Sans, I'm warning you. You do this and you're going to bring about consequences on not just you but everyone in this room. Everyone in this AU." "That sounded like a threat, Arcade. After all we've been through, you're going to screw over our alliance right now?" "Alliance? You were trying to end this alliance prematurely since after Snowdin. After Papyrus. You were on a vendetta, ready to take revenge even then." "Doctor...what's going on?" Toriel asked. "Volt...?" Alphys looked worried. "Why deny it, Arcade. None of us are above the consequences." "There don't have to be any if we don't make the choice to bring them about." "It's too late. They already saw. They already know." "Is this your way of saying 'If I go down, I'm taking you with me'?" "It's not personal." "Bull schnikees." I glowered. "The Commander is right. Chara will face justice, not extinction." "That's not for you to decide, long ears." "Who made you judge, jury and executioner? Just because you remember all the resets? The timelines?" Violet challenged. By now this had spiraled so far out of control. So many things were revealed. This timeline was borked. I don't know how I can salvage it now. In the center of all this chaos... "Frisk?" Bunnie suddenly noticed them approaching Chara, who was barely on his feet. "What do you want?" Chara spat a bit of blood at her feet. Sub-Entry 117: "Confrontation": "Chara...why?" "Why? After all we've been through in other timelines, you have the nerve to ask me THAT?!" "I'm sorry, Chara. But that wasn't me. You know that was another Frisk." "It doesn't matter...we were supposed to be partners...we were supposed to--" "This isn't saving everyone. It's hurting people." "You snivelling whiner...after all that you still can't confront any of them. Look at you. Where's your determination? It's whithed away. I've coveted nearly all of it in all the half-hearted attempts you've made to bring about a happy ending." "I don't understand what's going on...but I don't like it..." Undyne glared as I tried to deal with Sans while Frisk was confronting Chara. "Undyne..." Alphys wrapped her hand around Undyne's. "Alphys..." "Brother...please...this isn't like you. Stop this. We can...we can still talk this out. We don't have to hurt the human. I'm sure they can be a better person if they just tried..." "It isn't going to happen. There's no good in this one. This human was born twisted. They're a sick puppy, Pap. Sick puppies have to be put down." "But...there has to be another way." "Sans...I do not know you very well...I thought I did know you but...this is a side to you I am not sure I can comfortable with knowing. I thought..." "You thought I'd be your rebound guy after dumping Asgore. Yeah..sorry to disappoint you, Tori." All this drama overload. What could we do? "Commander, we have to get control of the situation." "But what can we do, Bunnie?" Sally asked. "I don't know. It's all slipping through my fingers and I don't know how to recover." "You can't save everyone, Arcade. Just let this one go." "I've already botched this mission once. This isn't a three-strike ball game. If I come back to the Council in failure again, they'll take matters into their own hands. The might decide this whole AU cube is too dangerous to be allow to exist." "So all the timelines WOULD come to an end." Sans confronted me. "Now who's the one hiding the lies?" "Is that any different than how you've protected your brother from the truth all this time? By hiding your lies?" "Brother. Why? Why would you like to me about this all this time? I don't understand all of this...but..." "Pappy...j-just let me think." "Tori...I'm so sorry. I understand if you do not wish to accept my apology. It must feel...meaningless to you." ".......it's...never meaningless to apologize...Gorey." "You haven't called me that in so long. I...I do not deserve it." "Maybe...it is not a matter of what you deserve...but what you are willing to accept." "Is there...hope?" "There is always hope. If you mean hope for us...do not be presumptuous. You still...have much to make up for." "You...all of you...just SHUT UP!!!" Frisk jumped back as Chara's Real Knife slashed outward. "You don't get it. None of you get it. I've waited so long for this moment. I've waited to take my revenge. But all of you...you've turned it into this chaotic...mess! This isn't going the way it was supposed to! You...you damn beasts...you freaks...you...MONSTERS! ALL OF YOU! You can take your sappy ending...and liesurely ROT IN IT!" Chara manefested his own H.U.D. and on it was the RESET. "Ohhhh shhhhh--!!!" I started. "No. No. No. No. NO. NO. NO!!!" Sans whirled and freaked. "Yes! YES! YES!!!" Chara raised his hand and brought it crashing down on the button... Sub-Entry 118: "There Will Be No Reset": "..." "Was...that supposed to...do something?" Papyrus scratched to top of his skull. "Whew..." I wiped my brow as I collapsed to my butt. "What...happened?" Alphys asked. "GRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGHHH!!! WORK! WORK! WORK! WHY WON'T YOU WORK?! WHY. WON'T. YOU. WORK?!" That was when Bunnie pointed toward Frisk. Their H.U.D. was out. ANd it was glowing brighter than Chara's. "What?!?" "You idiot, Chara...don't you know? There's only room enough for one player. There can be only one of you in control." "What! Impossible. Their Determination! It should be all but gone! It should--" "You were never the one in control." Frisk said with a meloncholy tone in her voice. And her voice was breaking as she was weeping. "I'm sorry. But this is my burden to bear." "How? How?!?" "In that moment...your Determination spiked. It exceeded his. You took back control. Just like Asriel did." "Asriel..." Toriel sobbed, realizing it. He had died a hero while Chara lived long enough to become the villain. I hadn't meant it that way but...this is how it turned out. "Heh heh heh...I guess you lose, brat." "This isn't over! This isn't over! I won't let it end like this! I won't! I won't I won't I won't!" "I don't think you quite understand. You dont have a choice in the matter." I looked over my shoulder. I turned around and faced them. "You're outnumbered. You're beaten badly. Your HP is almost gone. Your determination is outclassed. You have nothing. Not even friends or family in your corner. It's over." That was when he confirmed my suspicions. "GET ME OUT OF HERE! NOW! NOW! DO YOU HEAR ME?!" My eyes widened as the Cyber Gate suddenly opened. It was blood red and filled with static and...chaos. "NO!" "You're gonna pay for this! YOU'RE ALL GOING TO PAY FOR THIS! I'LL HAVE MY REVENGE!!!" Chara ran for the portal and jumped in. That was when I heard the cackle echo from the other side. I knew that voice. "You.......!!!!" I ground my teeth and snarled. Then the gate closed. "No, Sans. We've all lost this day." "I don't see how. You get your sappy ending...the kid can't reset any more. If he kicks the bucket, he's gone for good this time. Now he's gone who knows where. We might never see him again." "How deep does your vengeance run, Sans?" "You of all people have the call to ask me that? You of all people should know what this feels like." "I do know. I do. But for me there are no resets. Those lives AREN'T going to come back." "I...don't understand, Volt...what are you...?" Toriel started. Alphys looked away, eyes full of tears. "What does he mean, Alphys?" "..." "It doesn't matter." I said. "This mess has to be cleaned up. This has to be made right. Without resetting the timeline again." "How do you do it, Arcade? How do you stay so optimistic? There's no way out of this. You know. I know it. We've screwed up the timeline into something unrecognizable." "Maybe this is etched into this world's history, now. But that's the thing about time. What happens in the past stays in the past." "I don't follow. What are you getting at?" "Sans...you ignored my warnings. You went in half-cocked. You talked down to me like you knew what was best for business. I won't claim I know any better than you. But if you insist on playing it this way...there's a price to pay." Sub-Entry 119: "The Price You Pay, Sans": "Volt Arcade...what do you intend to do?" "I've been thinking this through. I can't lose another timeline. But I can't let all of you go on the way you are. You're all going down a dangerous path where you know it or not. Whether you intend it or not." "Doctor...what are you talking about?" Alphys looked worried. "Volt...I don't understand...what is this all about." "I'm sorry, Papyrus. Sans has made choices. Choices that have consequences. Consequences that do not just affect him. I am afraid everyone must pay the price for what he's done...in the past...in the present." "Volt...please...help me undestand what is happening." "Help us both. Toriel just came back...and now you're making it sound like I'm going to lose her all over again." "I wish you weren't so close to the truth..." I reached into my lab coat pocket and put on my dark shades. "Hey, nerd! I don't like all the complicated stuff you're talking about. Everyone else is getting all upset. What are you up to?" "I'm about to make a sacrifice that hurts me as much as it's going to hurt all of you." "I don't like the sound of that..." "Volt...m-maybe we sh-should t-t-talk about this...there has t-to b-be another way..." I turned to Toriel. "Queen Toriel...you've opened your home to me and given me warmth, kindness and understanding. I've tried to repay you with hope, light, and guidence. If there were any other way...I'd choose that in a heartbeat." "Volt..." "Papyrus. The Great Papyrus. You're gonna do a great job, you know. You'll be in the Royal Guard before you know it. Don't listen to what the brat said. You make the best puzzles and spaghetti. You're an amazing friend." "I...know you're being rather kind to me right now...but I feel sad all of a sudden. I feel like...you're...leaving us somehow." "Undyne. It was great crossin' blades with you. As you've seen...anime is totally real." "Don't talk down to me like I don't know what's going on......even though I don't know what's going on. You know you can't leave this place! The barrier's had us trapped down here for ages. It's impossible to get out of here." "Alphys...I've opened up so much to you. You've kept my secrets. I've kept yours. We've bonded. We've forged a friendship." "Th-there has t-t-t-to be be another w-way. Are you s-sure you w-w-want to do this, Doctor?" "This isn't the end, Alphys. You know I'll find a way. Hope always finds a way. And dreams are for ever. Don't worry. I'm coming back some day. Promise." "Oh god..." Alphys turned sadder. "Asgore. I've barely met you...(for actually...the fourth time, counting the other three in the previous timeline)...but I really am sorry for the deception. I hope you can forgive me. I would like to reach out and be your friend again some time. But this is where we part ways." At this point Violet, Bunnie, and Sally put on their own shades. "Sans." "Arcade. I don't know what you're about to do..." "Sans, I bent over backwards for your sake, trying to keep this timeline afloat. Was I up front? No. Were you? No. Did it have to go down this way? You tell me." "Don't take the high road on this. We're both sinners on some level." By now the floor sealed up. The damage to the castle was still there but...that was priority 2 at most. "We are. I'll pay for my choices. I'm still paying for them in ways you'll never know. But I guess that's true for more than one reason." "Arcade...are you really going to judge me now?" "Judge? You've already judged yourself. I'm just passing sentence. If you want to say anything, I suggest you apologize to everyone you screwed over." "Sans...?" Papyrus looked to his brother. "Sorry, Paps. I tried. I really did. Guess we all pay because I was too lazy to put real effort into this. I took a shortcut...and our futures got cut short." "Don't downplay it like this is a genocide run, Sans. You'll all live. The timeline won't reset. But the way out of this...if you remember this, somehow? You might wish it had." I pulled out the Neuralizer and programmed it accordingly. "I guess this is a punchline for me to remember." Sans shrugged. "No you won't..." I uttered before I clicked on it. *FLAAAAASH* Hours later... "...!!!" Sans awoke at his sentry station. "Sans! You lazy bones!" "P...Papyrus?" "Sans, it has been 9 days since you've recalibrated your puzzles! What if a human comes around." "Sorry, Paps. I guess I worked myself to the bone." "Sans, really. I feel as though you've worn that joke out hundreds of times." "Eh. Probably." "Sans, I'm going back to my post. Try to put more...backbone into your job. Nyeheheheheh..." Papyrus headed off. "Oh, Paps. You really gotta learn to lighten up. You take my 'rib-ing' too seriously." He nodded off and leaned back in his chair. "...wait...how many days did he say?" Sans' eyes snapped open. Elsewhere... "...what a strange dream...I must've have been out--" Toriel looked at the calendar. "For a whole day? Oh my...have I really fallen so far that I sleep through a whole day?" And... "Nynnnaaaagh! How much longer...?! It's been...forever since the last human fell. Dammit all!" Undyne stormed around her house in her armor. "Huh...? When did I...?" Undyne noticed the missing Golden Tea. "GNYAAARGH! This doesn't make sense!!!" In Hotland... "Hmm? Where'd all this extra gold come from? Ah-hu-hu-hu...how slipshot of me. I never miscount my money. Of course... Alphys moaned as she sat up at her computer desk. "Another day without results. M-my research is g-going nowhere. I d-d-don't know what I'm going to t-t-tell them all. And the v-vessel...oh no...what h-h-have I d-done?" Alphys peeked up. "Still nothing from any of the cameras. We might n-not have a human for s-some time. Alphys was about to switch off the monitor. "Huh? Time-stamp discrepancy?" Alphys tried to access further into the surveilance. "There's...data missing? H-h-how? W-when?" Alphys looked worried. "Does...this...have anything to d-d-do with the old research I've found in the f-facility? M...maybe I should contact..." Alphys scrolled through her cell phone's contact list, stopping at an entry called "Doo-Doo Butt". "...why haven't I changed that electronic I.D. after all this time..." And lastly... "...today is a good day...I think." Asgore tugged at his beard. "But...I cannot say I can remember much of it." Asgore sighed and headed back through the path back to the copy of Toriel's house in New Home. And Frisk...? "...I deserve this." Frisk hugged her knees to her chest. "I...don't know if I have it in me...but I have to try...one more time..." She remained in the corner of the chamber under the mouth of Mount Ebott. As for us...? Sub-Entry 120: "Homeward Bound." Violet had gotten shotgun in the Delorean while Bunnie had gotten herself and Sally back to the Time Train. "......what have I done?" I sounded, incredibly dejected. Why shoulding I? I just undid all that hard work. I threw away memories. I erased friendships. "You did what you thought was right." Bunnie's voice came over the video communicator. "I did the same thing as Frisk. I played with lives then rolled them all back like it was just--" "Don't get bent out of shape, Commander. The timeline is still ongoing. You can fix this. You can go back and restore them all. One by one." "Yeah...when I'm ready, I'll bring their memories back, selectively and carefully." "That progress isn't gone, Volt. It's just...in stasis. On hold." "Bunnie...just who the Hell do I think I am?" "You're Volt Arcade. I know youre method was questionable. But you did what you had to do. You did what you could to save them all." "I erased and modified memories all over the Kingdom." "It'll be up to Frisk to make her own path back through the "game" once more." Sally assured. "And this time without Chara to muck things up." "Yeah...but it's still unbalanced." "Maybe so. But now Frisk can make up her own mind without interference." Sally again assured. I sighed. "You know this isn't the last we're going to hear of Chara." "No. It is not. But more importantly..." "With this failure..." "Chara is about to find out what happens when people fail the Followers of Chaopolis." "Precisely." I narrowed my eyes. "Fortunately for him, not so much for us...Adonis isn't finished with him. Not by a long shot." "Then..." "Yeah. As agreed five years ago." "Understood." "Roger." "Ten four, supreme space commander, sir." Witht that both vehicles accelerated to 88 MPH and took off. However... "...you're right, Arcade. This isn't over. Not be a long shot. The game WILL continue. After all...there is one person who didn't lose his memories......every...last...timeline...allllll of them....hee hee hee hee..." And with that the flower burrowed underground with that unholy laughter. CRYPTOSMASHER LOGOFF END TRANSMISSION... END OF PART 1 Chapter 13 Back to Part 1 To Part 2 Back to Project Lost Dreemurr Next